Man Utd told Arsenal's winning goal should not have stood after officials 'failed'

Manchester United were unfortunate to lose to Arsenal because the winning goal should have been disallowed, according to Mark Clattenburg. United began their Premier League season with a 1-0 defeat by the Gunners at Old Trafford on Sunday.

Arsenal’s goal came from their first corner of the game as Riccardo Calafiori headed Declan Rice’s cross over the line after Altay Bayindir failed to punch the ball clear. Bayindir felt he had been impeded by William Saliba, but the goal was allowed to stand.

The goal has seen a continuation of the debate over United’s goalkeepers, with Bayindir standing in for Andre Onana, who missed the game following an injury. Gary Neville felt Bayindir was at fault and needed to be stronger, but ex-Premier League referee Clattenburg had sympathy for the Turkey international.

“In real time, I did not see any problem with Arsenal's goal,” he told United In Focus. “But when you watch it in slow motion, you can see Mason Mount was having his shirt pulled and Bayindir was being impeded while challenging for the ball. PGMOL said they would punish this type of challenge more, but again they failed.”

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His words echoed those of Ruben Amorim, who felt aggrieved that the goal was allowed to stand. He said: “I understand we want goals, but when you touch the goalkeeper that way, I think it’s hard. Especially to lose with a goal like this, I think it’s hard. It was a strange goal.

“When you touch the goalkeeper, he needs to use his hands to catch the ball, not push players. He chooses to push players and let the ball pass. But again, it's the rules. If it's allowed, we need to do the same thing.”

Arsenal have become the masters of scoring from set pieces over the past few seasons and appeared to have identified United’s weakness. Saliba occupied Bayindir, who got a hand to Rice’s cross, but could only divert it into the head of an unmarked Calafiori at the back post.

“The goalkeeper has got to be stronger,” Neville said on co-commentary for Sky Sports. “I think he will complain that he was fouled. He’s got a player in front of him, there’s a lot of pushing and shoving going on. I just think your goalkeeper has to be stronger.”

Neville has urged United to pursue Aston Villa goalkeeper Emi Martinez or Gianluigi Donnarumma, who is poised to leave Paris Saint-Germain. The ex-United defender believes the big personalities of the two keepers and their ability to cope with pressure would help his old club and Wayne Rooney agrees.

Rooney said on his podcast: "Donnarumma, I think he's 26, he's one of the best goalkeepers in the world, it would be crazy if Man United don't go for him."

However, Amorim insists he is "happy with the three goalkeepers" and added: "I think we prove today that we can win any game in the Premier League, especially against a great team like Arsenal and we were the better team. So I’m happy with the players."

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